The first three book reviews for my brand-new young-adult novel Tracker’s Canyon are in and ALL are either 3 stars out of 4, or 4 stars out of 5. That’s so exciting! You can buy the book on Amazon, and here are the reviews:
Tracker’s Canyon Review #1: “highly recommended”
Canadian Materials (CM), Volume XXIII Number 34, May 12, 2017
“Tracker’s Canyon, by Pam Withers, tells the story of 16-year-old Tristan Gordon following the disappearance and presumed death of his father, Julian Gordon, at Swallow Canyon. Tristan has grown up tracking and canyoneering, learning the skills from his father. When his father disappears, Tristan is torn between helping his mother, who can not cope with her husband’s disappearance, and trying to find proof of his father’s death. When he meets a new guide in town, Brigit Dowling, Tristan goes canyoneering for the first time since his father’s disappearance. He has caught the bug and makes plans to canyoneer Swallow Canyon with Brigit and her friend, Dominik Goralski. As their adventure begins, Tristan begins to wonder what Brigit’s true motive is for this trip. In the nick of time, he realizes that he is the one being tracked.
“Withers has created a cast of characters whose lives are intertwined by a tragedy. Both Tristan and Brigit have different versions of what they believed happened. It is these perspectives that create the suspense and conflict in the story. Readers will be easily caught up in the canyoneering and fast-paced action. As Withers intended , readers will also be rooting for Tristan who has been cast as the unlikely hero. Tracker’s Canyon is a story about truth, friendship, family and resilience. A good read.”
Christina Pike is the Principal at Macdonald Drive Junior High in St. John’s, NL.
Tracker’s Canyon Review #3: 4 of 5 stars!
by Elizabeth Routh at NetGalley
“Thanks to his dad’s coaching, sixteen-year-old Tristan is one of the best climbers and trackers in his community. This talent comes in handy after his father disappears, leaving Tristan alone with his struggling mother and with no other choice but to go try to find him. Or at least find out what happened to him. Unfortunately he’s not the only one out there looking for someone or something. In a harrowing situation where he doesn’t know who he can trust, can Tristan avoid the danger and find what he’s looking for before time runs out?
“This was a great book that would appeal to middle school aged children up to adults. It was a great story with great characters and lots of adventure.”
Tracker’s Canyon Review #3: 4 out of 5 stars
by Shannon Dillard with NetGalley
“The book is told from 16 year old Tristan’s point of view and the first half of the book introduces us to what is going on in his life and what happened to his father. We also meet his mother, who is still very grief stricken even after so many months and his uncle. The second half of the book follows Tristan as he heads back out to Swallow Canyon in an attempt to figure out what happened to his father, using the tracking and climbing skills he has acquired. The first half of the book was a bit slow for me, but I really enjoyed the second half. I really enjoy wilderness survival type books and I have to say I have to found many of them in the fiction genre. Without giving away any spoilers, Tristan does find out what happened to his father towards the end of the book. This was a quick read and I really enjoyed the action filled adventuring into the wilderness in the second half of the book. Although a bit slow in the beginning, the plot moves along pretty quickly after that and the author provides with a lot of detail in the second half as Tristan is hiking and climbing through the canyon. Overall, it was fun and easy read.”
